Question

how is coal different from petroleum even though both are fossil fuels

Answer 1

coal is a solid fuel but petroleum is a liquid fuel.
coal releases a lot of smoke whereas petroleum does not release much smoke

Answer 2

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Coal is carbon. Petroleum is hydrocarbons. Much of the coal was formed in carboniferous Era 300+ million years ago. At that time wood had evolved but organisms that broke it had not yet evolved. Petroleum is remains of ancient sea life.

There are differences in use also. Coal is mainly used for electricity. Oil is a transport fuel. It also is used for heating.

Coal is primarily the carbon spine of hydrocarbons, ash, and heavy metals. All the hydrogen was harvested off by biology. So largely “plant skeletons”.

Hydrocarbons have plenty of hydrogen left, usually sulfur but no ash, and not much in the way of heavy metals. So something like “plant blood”. Not really, just “like”.

The obvious things, that you may have already noticed for yourself, is that one is solid, the other a thick liquid. I make an assumption here that ‘petroleum’ means crude oil. Coal is the remains of plants with some mineral content. Most experts consider that crude oil was formed by the chemical decomposition of the bodies of living creatures.

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